Provides a central role for Dewey’s talk of education and how it fits into his overall philosophy.

Inquiry and Education offers a lucid and challenging interpretation of John Dewey, his critics, and his supporters. Thematically organized, the book focuses on four of Dewey’s preeminent concernsinquiry, growth, community, and democracyand their close association with formal education. This book fills a void in the literature on Dewey by providing the first critical exploration of the philosopher’s talk of education and how this fits into his overall philosophy. James Scott Johnston develops Dewey’s thinking and suggests that Dewey’s theory of inquiry is best described as self-correcting and context-bound.

“Johnston explains that Dewey’s thinking requires linking all his thought, and he forces one to acknowledge the influence of Dewey’s ideas on education on his more purely philosophic writing.” — CHOICE

“Johnston’s deft analysis of the charges advanced against Dewey by his many critics expands our understanding of the relation of his educational theories to his wider philosophical project.”  Larry Hickman, Director of the Center for Dewey Studies, Southern Illinois University Carbondale

“I like how the author lays out the richness of the Deweyan tradition as it has impacted the philosophical debates of the twentieth century.”  Kathleen Knight Abowitz, Miami University

James Scott Johnston is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Education at Queen’s University, Ontario.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments

I. INTRODUCTION

II. INQUIRY AND SCIENCE

Part One: A Short History of the Debate on Inquiry
Part Two: The Present-Day Debate on Inquiry
Part Three: Rereading Inquiry
Part Four: Inquiry as Self-Correcting

III. INQUIRY, EXPERIENCE, AND GROWTH

Part One: A Short History of the Debate on Experience
Part Two: The Present-Day Debate on Experience
Part Three: Rereading Inquiry in Experience
Part Four: Inquiry, Growth, and Education

IV. INQUIRY, GROWTH, AND COMMUNITY

Part One: A Short History of the Debate on Community
Part Two: The Present-Day Debate on Community
Part Three: Rereading Inquiry and Community
Part Four: Inquiry as Growth through Community

V. INQUIRY, GROWTH, COMMUNITY, AND DEMOCRACY

Part One: A Short History of the Debate on Democracy
Part Two: The Present-Day Debate on Democracy
Part Three: Rereading Inquiry and Democracy
Part Four: Educating Democracy